In July last year, the Goa Government was chest-thumping as the State progressed from the 24th to the 16th position in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rankings. Simultaneously, in another ranking for the State Start-up Ecosystem, Goa ranked 5th amongst 16 states with a population of less than one crore.
However, in the post-Covid scenario, businesses across sectors have been suffering and are longing to make a way out of the constant down-market, to the extent that some of the resorts and hotels in the State are offering summer special discounts on their packages even this year. But, despite the hurt that most businesses in the State suffer from and trying to cope with the constant rising inflation, one sector that has flourished and made much more profit, is begging.
When Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in November last year made a statement alleging that people from other states in the country come to set up their crime businesses in Goa, he perhaps had not taken into account the ‘business of begging’ which has been flourishing right under the government’s nose. All the major towns and villages in the State are infested with the menace of beggars. Even Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar raised the issue on the first day of the four-day Assembly session held in March this year.
Can one imagine that beggars operate and communicate over smartphones? What kind of poverty are these beggars living – who own smartphones and get directions about their work hours and spots on the smartphones? And the latest trend is that the male who is leading the group will be seen selling a product or two like stationery items or car/travel accessories and the women from the group will be holding infants and begging.
We have heard stories of those who made a living out of begging at bus stands and have built lavish homes. However, this latest trend of migrants accompanied by their children and squatting at important locations, including the beaches, is not just a social trouble in the making but also an eye-sore for the visiting tourists who are at the receiving end wherever they go.
Recently, in an incident reported in Porvorim, a beggar woman was crossing the busy highway at the main junction while talking on the phone. A youth in an attempt to avoid hitting this lady ended up dashing against another bike and eventually also landed near this lady’s feet. Sensing the opportunity, the woman squatted on the road, started howling and pretending that she was hurt in the accident, and demanded Rs 2 lakh from the youth for her ‘medical treatment’.
Such incidents are occurring at major junctions and traffic islands every day, and Goans, to carry on with their daily life and free from police hassles, succumb to such tactics and the menace keeps growing.
Thus, the question that arises is that despite the issue being raised in the Legislative Assembly by a ruling party legislator, has the government even considered the beggars’ menace as an issue? Going by the ground reality, one cannot see any serious efforts by the government to curb this menace. It’s high time the police, the local municipal administration and the village panchayats take initiatives to ensure that these groups who live by the roadside are identified and taken to task for the problems they create in the society? The police should recall that until recently, such gangs which made the old Campal Parade grounds their home were the first contact for drugs.
As the G20 Summit meetings are being held in the State, the government should ponder upon the image of Goa these beggars will imprint on the minds of the foreign delegates.
